


Frozen Tranquility

by Witch_in_training



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Circle of Magi, Crossover, Despair, Fighting, Gen, Hawke and the crew make an appearance, May cause tears, No Fluff, No Smut, Nobody is Dead, Rite of Tranquility
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22504702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witch_in_training/pseuds/Witch_in_training
Summary: The Kingdom of Arendelle is a small one, so the news of one princess severely harming the other gets out pretty quick, especially since the two princesses are just children. The Templars of the Southern Isles Circle of Magi do not hesitate in their duties - well, most of them don't. Welcome to the tragic backstory of Elsa, Knigh-Captain Meredith's Tranquil secretary.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Frozen Tranquility

**Author's Note:**

> For the purpose of this fic, let's imagine the lake at Frostback Basin is actually a sea and Arendelle lays on a peninsula somewhere south of the Basin and the Southern Isles a bit more, well, south in that sea.  
> Ever since Frozen came out, everytime I played DA II, I couldn't stop thinking about Elsas. A few weeks ago I went to see Frozen two and a few days later I visited Meredith. One thing led to the other and... well, I blame Disney for this heartbreaking idea.
> 
> I'm not a native speaker, so please forgive me any mistakes in English (or tell me about them), but I hope the wonderful [OuriCollectsFanfiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OuriCollectsFanfiction/profile) has caught them all.

“You cannot take her! I will not allow it! She is my daughter, does that mean nothing to you?!” king Agnarr shouted.

“Of course, it does, Your Majesty,” the Knight-Captain bowed. “But you have witnessed what she is capable of. Imagine what she could do to your kingdom…”

“How dare you?!” the King cried incredulously.

“It is the will of the Maker, Your Majesty. By the Divine’s decree, you shall not harbour a mage – and one so dangerous! Think of your other daughter, think of your kingdom!”

“How dare you!” the King bellowed, but he knew it was hopeless. King or no King he could not go against the Chantry, not without severe repercussions. And were the Divine to send an army, Arendelle wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Please, just… can you just teach her to control it?” queen Iduna begged, her eyes red from crying. “She… she is just a girl! She doesn’t deserve to be made Tranquil!”

“Your Majesty, Tranquillity is not a punishment. It is a mercy, a kindness even – to keep the princess safe – and everyone else as well.”

“I have met Tranquils, and it seems a punishment to me!” the Queen snapped. “You cannot do that to my daughter!”

The Knight-Captain bowed again, sighing inwardly. Nobility. Always so difficult to deal with. “We will, of course, let the Enchanters try to teach her. But after what we’ve seen here, it might be the best course of action. You have my word, though, we will try.”

“You had better!” the Queen answered angrily. The King merely glared at him.

Later that night the King and Queen of Arendelle watched the Templar ship leave towards the Southern Isles, where the nearest Circle of Magi stood, with their older daughter on board. They prayed to the Maker to have mercy on her, to give her the strength she would need to command her powers to the Templars’ satisfaction, but they rightfully feared the worst. The Southern Isles Circle of Magi was not known for its kindness.

“We should have taken her to the Wilds,” the Queen sobbed.

“Yes… or to Ferelden at least,” the King agreed and hugged her in a vain attempt to ease their grief.

The Knight-Captain had been thinking three, maybe five years at the most – and then even the royals would have to accept they had tried, but sadly, very, oh so _very_ sadly, failed to teach the girl to manage her magic – yet, even the Knight-Commander let her pass. It has been nearly eight years and it was only a small mercy she hadn’t harmed anyone in her adolescent tantrums.

If only she talked with demons, everybody would see reason right away, he was sure, but this was just some ‘nearly harmless ice magic’. He snorted. No magic is harmless!

And then he turned around the corner and stopped speechless in his tracks.

Three of his men stood there unmoving, like huge metallic icicles, or better yet stalagmites, the floor was as clear as a mirror, the air crisp and a bunch of icy spikes protruded from the floor creating a barrier around the princess.

Three to five years, he thought. Yet the Knight-Commander let her be for nearly eight. It was about time somebody, namely himself, did something about it.

More of his Templars were trying to carefully approach the mage. At nearly sixteen she should know what happens if she misbehaves. But it didn’t matter. This was the last time, anyway.

“Get her!” he shouted and drew his sword. If only he had his shield on him as well.

“No! Leave me alone! I must go to Arendelle! There is a Blight in Ferelden! What if it spreads there! Let me go!” the girl cried, and more ice sparkled around her.

Luckily, the men outflanking her had stopped at the armoury on their way there. Each of them had a shield.

One of the Knight-Lieutenants was with them as well. Good. The Knight-Captain made eye contact with her and the woman nodded. Then she gestured to the two Templars accompanying her and they ran to the mage. The girl waved her hand and several smaller icy spikes shot towards them, but they managed to strike them down with their shields. At that moment the three Templars on her other side moved in on her. She anticipated them and instead of defending herself, she joined her hands and pushed against them. No spikes came out, though. Instead, an arc, like a frozen wave – a bridge, the Knight-Captain realized a few seconds later – formed over the heads of the startled Templars. The girl jumped on it and ran over. Barefoot.

“After her!” the Knight-Captain shouted and ran around them. His men finally recovered and followed him.

They caught up with her at the courtyard. She stood there, wildly looking from one side to the other searching for a way of escape. She wouldn’t find one, though. The docks were locked and guarded and aside from them the only way she could get to the coast or to Anhold or anywhere else, was to swim. And the waters were too cold and too wild for that. Unless… could she freeze the sea? Cold sweat broke out on the Knight-Captain’s forehead.

“Get her! Quickly!” he roared again, tore a shield out of one of his men’s hands and sprinted to the mage.

His Templars followed.

The girl turned and looked back at them, her blue eyes round and frightened. Most mages would have made a deal with a demon by now and the Knight-Captain was actually quite impressed she was not one of them.

Admiration didn’t stop him though; a Templar must be vigilant – always.

The girl backed away, freezing the ground under their feet, but they managed, somehow, to stay on their feet and close on her.

One of them got near enough to Silence her and when she stumbled in surprise, another one Cleansed the whole area turning the ice back into water, which turned the ground into mud. Mud is, however, much easier to run on than ice, so they surrounded her completely in no time.

“Stand down now and you won’t be harmed!” the Knight-Lieutenant called to her. A promise she wouldn’t be able to keep.

“No, please, I just wanted to – to go home, to see if everyone is alright!” the girl replied in a tiny voice.

“This is your home, mage,” the Knight-Captain said dispassionately. “There’s no going anywhere.”

“But… I… I'm the princess of Arendelle, I must go and – “

She was interrupted by two eager Templars who stepped too close too soon. She sent spikes at them. One stopped them with his shield, the other got one to his thigh and fell to the ground wailing in pain. That inspired three more men from her other side to move forward as well. They got luckier – one of them got a cut to his cheek but otherwise they kept progressing unharmed.

She took a deep breath and, shooting her arms up, called a snowstorm upon them.

“Maker’s Mercy!” the Knight-Captain exhaled and pushed forward against the frosty wind.

Behind the young mage’s back, the Knight-Lieutenant pushed as well and started chanting: _“Blessed are they who stand before…”_

The girl turned and sent a gust of the icy wind the woman’s way.

 _“… the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter,”_ gritted the Templar through her teeth.

The Knight-Captain was almost in the right position when a flurry of wind sent hailstones at him and they clinked loudly on his armour.

The girl turned and threw an icicle at him but he managed to block it with his shield. It did bounce of, though, and stabbed one of the closer Templars right under her ribs. She wasn’t wearing armour, the fool. As she sank to the ground, the Knight-Lieutenant jumped forward and shouted: _“Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just!”_

That gave the Knight-Captain enough time to close his eyes for a moment and let a wave of light emanate out of him and strike the distracted mage. She cried in pain, stumbled, and the storm vanished. The Knight-Captain’s Holy Smite made short work of her.

To be on the safe side, the Knight-Captain kicked her feet from under her and as she sprawled on the ground, he pressed the point of his sword to her neck.

“Not today, mage,” he smirked triumphantly.

The girl gasped for air.

“Bind her,” he ordered the still standing Templars, “then take her to the Harrowing Hall and start the fire. Get the others to the healer. Knight-Lieutenant, tell the First Enchanter to come there.”

The Harrowing Hall of the Southern Isles Circle didn’t deserve to be called a ‘hall’ so much as a ‘dark damp dungeon’, but at least it sounded better, if nothing else. Any apprentice entering it was certain they were going to their deaths until they were informed their fate might not be as final.

For the former Arendellian princess, the Knight-Captain planned a fate far crueller, though.

When the Knight-Lieutenant ushered the First Enchanter to the gloomy room lit only by a few torches, the mage looked uneasily from the Knight-Captain to the tied girl on the floor and back. From the distant look in her eyes it was obvious she was dosed with some kind of mind-addling potion.

“What is happening?” he asked the Knight-Captain.

“We are submitting this one to the Rite of Tranquillity,” the man replied.

“The Rite of Tranquillity?” the Frist Enchanter yelped. He was a small, nervous looking man and many a Templar wondered how he even got through his Harrowing, never mind becoming the First Enchanter. “We are? Really? Is it… is it necessary?”

“She hurt five of my men. Three are possibly dead. We haven’t managed to unfreeze them yet. _So_ , what do _you_ think? _Is_ it necessary?” the Templar growled at the mage who appeared to be shrinking in front of him.

“Ye-yes, I suppose it can’t-can’t be helped,” he agreed quickly.

“But what about the Knight-Commander? Shouldn’t he be the one to decide? Sir?” the Knight-Lieutenant asked uncertainly.

“You have seen first-hand what she’s done without any demon’s help. I will talk to the Knight-Commander when he’s back. This can’t wait. We should have done this years ago. Start the preparations,” barked the Knight-Captain.

Lines sparkling with precious lyrium powder were drawn around the girl, candles were lit, the lyrium brand put into the fire.

The First Enchanter watched uneasily from the shadows near the wall and only when all was ready, the Knight-Captain waved him to his side, and he obeyed reluctantly.

Two Templars helped the young mage to her knees and held her tight. The others formed a circle around the group.

The Knight-Captain took a torch in his hand and chanted and all but the girl repeated after him:

_“Magic exists to serve man,  
_ _and never to rule over him.  
_ _Foul and corrupt are they  
_ _who have taken His gift  
_ _and turned it against His children.  
_ _They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones._  
_They shall find no rest in this world  
_ _or beyond.”_

At the last verse he lowered the torch to the lines on the ground which caught fire, pushed the torch to the First Enchanter and with his hand free he pulled the brand out of the fire and pressed it to the girl’s forehead. She screamed. Even the potion addling her mind couldn’t stop the horrible pain.

Finally, she quieted down to painful whimpers and the Knight-Captain looked at her pitiless.

“Now you are free of your curse,” he said.

Unceremoniously letting out a long sight he turned to the Knight-Lieutenant: “Finally. Take her up.”

It was to the First Enchanter’s credit that he only threw up after he ran out to the courtyard and hid himself in a corner.

“Do you realize what you have done?” the Knight-Commander asked heavily. “What if her parents ask for her? Come to visit?”

“She harmed five of our men, sir. Maker only knows what she could do if a demon possessed her. If you pardon my bluntness, it should have been done years ago. Even her royal parents must understand this,” the Knight-Captain said.

The Knight-Commander closed his eyes, clearly weary not only of his Captain’s bluntness but also his unrepentance. The man was not wrong though. Had the mage been allowed to undergo the Harrowing, would she have succeeded? And if not, would they even be able to stop her?

“Very well. It is done now, either way. What do you propose we do with her now?”

“We could send her to Kirkwall with the others,” the Knight-Captain shrugged, “sir.”

The Knight-Commander thought on it for a bit, then nodded, relieved to be rid of the problem so simply. “So be it…”

“I have all the information I require,” Hawke said.

“Good luck on your search, Champion of Kirkwall,” the Tranquil intoned.

“Thank you… Elsa,” Hawke replied turning to leave.

“Oh, she’s pretty. Very pale, but very pretty. She must be very far away from home here,” Merrill wondered, sadness in her voice, as they neared the exit of the small courtyard. “I wonder how she got here.”

“Yes, well. That’s what the Templars do. They tear you away from everything you know and strip you of your dreams,” Andres growled.

“ _I_ wonder what she did to deserve this,” Varric pondered.

“Knowing the Templars, it didn’t have to be much,” Justice glowed in Anders’s eyes.

A sudden quiet noise made Hawke stop and turn. It seemed to come from the Tranquil woman.

“Are you alright?” Hawke asked uncertainly.

“Yes, of course, Champion, thank you,” she said in her usual monotonous voice and unconsciously wiped a tear from her cheek. But for a second, there had been snowmen dancing in her mind, and it made her heart ache. Well, no more of that nonsense.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic published here, so please, if you think the rating or the warnings should be set differentely, feel free to tell me so. I don't think this one could cause much pain to anyone, expect severe heartbreak, but I could be wrong and if so, I'd like to avoid it.


End file.
